SA Rugby and Biogen unite in sponsorship deal
SA Rugby has revealed that wellness company Biogen is a new brand partner after signing a three-year sponsorship agreement.
Home-grown
This is the first time that a home-grown vitamins and nutrition brand will be an official supplier and partner to SA Rugby.
Biogen was established in 2004 and has grown to become a well known provider of nutritional supplements in South Africa.
Rian Oberholzer, CEO of SA Rugby, said: “Success on the international stage demands more than talent and hard work, it also depends on the right support systems and partners who share our same values.
“The partnership with Biogen reinforces our belief in high-quality, safe and responsible nutrition as a key enabler of preparation, recovery and sustained performance. We are proud to be supported by a supplement partner that shares our focus on excellence, transparency and world-class quality.”
Biogen’s credentials include over 11 years of “Informed Sport” product testing – one of SA Rugby’s non-negotiable conditions for working with any brand in the nutrition space. The “Informed” programmes involve banned substance testing, manufacturer audits and the scrutiny of product formulas for safety and efficacy.
Track record
Biogen is no stranger to professional sport, with a solid track record working with many of SA’s top sporting teams and unions, including the Hollywoodbets Sharks Rugby, the DHL Stormers, Mamelodi Sundowns, SA Rowing as well as the Titans, Lions and Knights cricket franchises.
“Sport is a unifying national passion with millions of South Africans, from all walks of life, invested in and united behind our teams, and we are incredibly proud of Biogen’s association with SA Rugby and the Springboks,” said Brandon Fairweather, Biogen’s brand manager.
Fairweather added that Biogen has been interacting with SA Rugby’s medical and performance teams for a few years now: “Vitamins and sports nutrition for world-class players is an essential component of training and recovery, but the partnership was born out of shared values of high performance underpinned by safe and responsible product usage, so it was critical for SA Rugby to understand the integrity of the Biogen products, research and development, and sourcing processes, at the outset.
“The inking of the partnership agreement is a massive milestone for us, of course. We see it as the highest endorsement of our relentless commitment and investment into the integrity, ethics and authenticity that exemplifies the Biogen brand and approach.”
According to Fairweather, sports nutrition and vitamins can play a vital role for athletes and consumers alike, but that Biogen is fully aligned to a food-first approach and supplementing thereafter to address nutritional gaps that whole foods alone may not fully meet, especially under intense training demands. The combined strategy is ideal to support the energy, immunity, strength and recovery needs of athletes at this level.